Monsanto and Pepsi trying to stop GMO labeling law in Washington State

<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Washington State ballot measure to label food featuring genetically modified crops is under fire as food and chemical corporations pour millions of dollars against the campaign.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On November 5, voters will head to the polls to decide whether or not to label food containing crops that have been genetically modified, but what started out as a landslide victory in the making has turned into a tight contest amidst massive corporate spending.</span></div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="A label on a bag of popcorn indicates it is a non-GMO food product, in Los Angeles, California, October 19, 2012. (AFP Photo / Robyn Beck)" height="224" src="http://rt.com/files/news/20/f4/40/00/000_was6989486.si.jpg" width="400" /></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <!-- wakeupcallnews_main_Blog1_300x250_as --> <br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" data-ad-client="ca-pub-4160732926314614" data-ad-slot="5003299087" style="display: inline-block; height: 250px; width: 300px;"></ins><script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Supporters of ballot measure I-522 argue that this is an issue of transparency, and letting consumers know when their food contains genetically modified organisms (GMO) would enable them to make more educated decisions. They also say that GMO are not safe for human or animal consumption, and cause environmental problems by promoting the use of certain farming chemicals.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Opponents, spearheaded by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), claim that not only is genetically modified food safe to eat, but also that the initiative would mistakenly cause people to think there’s something wrong with products featuring GMO labels. The end result would be that the cost of food at grocery stores would rise and place an unnecessary burden on shoppers.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"It would require tens of thousands of common food and beverage products to be relabeled exclusively for Washington state unless they are remade with higher-priced, specially developed ingredients,"</i> Brian Kennedy, GMA spokesman, said to Al Jazeera America. <i>"The measure will increase grocery costs for a typical Washington family by hundreds of dollars per year."</i></span></div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br /> <!-- Begin BidVertiser code --> <script language="JavaScript1.1" src="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=579098%26bid=1449088" type="text/javascript"></script> <noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">marketing</a></noscript> <!-- End BidVertiser code --> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { if (window.CHITIKA === undefined) { window.CHITIKA = { 'units' : [] }; }; var unit = {"publisher":"milevski21","width":300,"height":250,"sid":"Chitika Default"}; var placement_id = window.CHITIKA.units.length; window.CHITIKA.units.push(unit); document.write('<div id="chitikaAdBlock-' + placement_id + '"></div>'); var s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = '//cdn.chitika.net/getads.js'; try { document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(s); } catch(e) { document.write(s.outerHTML); } }()); </script> <script type='text/javascript' src='http://ads.qadserve.com/t?id=a2b34d3a-e07c-4678-a7a8-346319aafab6&size=728x90'></script> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both sides have raised about $28 million combined in campaign spending, but the vast majority of the cash – $22 million, to be precise – has come from groups opposing the bill. The GMA, a group acting on the behalf of more than 300 different food and beverage companies, has raised $11 million to push back against I-522. Other corporations like PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle, and Monsanto are major fundraising contributors. Monsanto alone contributed roughly $5.4 million in funds, according to Reuters.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read more: <a href="http://rt.com/usa/washington-gmo-law-food-980/" style="background-color: transparent;">http://rt.com/usa/washington-gmo-law-food-980/</a></span></div> <!-- Begin BidVertiser code --> <script language="JavaScript1.1" src="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=579098%26bid=1449088" type="text/javascript"></script> <noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">marketing</a></noscript> <!-- End BidVertiser code --> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { if (window.CHITIKA === undefined) { window.CHITIKA = { 'units' : [] }; }; var unit = {"publisher":"milevski21","width":300,"height":250,"sid":"Chitika Default"}; var placement_id = window.CHITIKA.units.length; window.CHITIKA.units.push(unit); document.write('<div id="chitikaAdBlock-' + placement_id + '"></div>'); var s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = '//cdn.chitika.net/getads.js'; try { document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(s); } catch(e) { document.write(s.outerHTML); } }()); </script> <script type='text/javascript' src='http://ads.qadserve.com/t?id=a2b34d3a-e07c-4678-a7a8-346319aafab6&size=728x90'></script>

Monsanto and Pepsi trying to stop GMO labeling law in Washington State

A Washington State ballot measure to label food featuring genetically modified crops is under fire as food and chemical corporations pour mi...

Read more »